Elmira
Elmira was given to 11 girls in 2025, #9,025 among girls’ names; 4,360 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,060 Americans named Elmira and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (24% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 53 and 80.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Elmira by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Elmira mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Elmira is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “noble” (*aþalaz) and “famous” (*mēraz).
Possibly a feminine equivalent of Elmer, from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz (“noble”) + *mēraz (“famous”), as in Spanish Edelmira. Introduced through literature (Molière, Goethe).
/ɛlˈmaɪ.ɹə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Elmira?
#9,025 among girls’ names, 2025
Elmira fell from #8,129 in 2015 to #9,025 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 7.8 to 6.8 per million.
122 babies in 1921, the peak
Elmira peaked in 1921, when 122 girls were given it, #668 among girls’ names. The 11 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #9,025 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 14 | #7,698 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 10 | #9,805 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 13 | #8,167 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,394 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 7 | #12,842 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 12 | #8,770 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 12 | #8,943 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 5 | #17,006 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 14 | #8,129 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (125)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10 | #10,371 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 5 | #17,338 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 7 | #13,921 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 8 | #12,504 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #12,643 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 6 | #15,825 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 8 | #13,041 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 5 | #16,216 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 8 | #10,638 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 5 | #14,166 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 5 | #14,146 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,522 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 7 | #10,002 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,541 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 9 | #7,043 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,375 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,288 | under 0.01 |
| 1978 | 8 | #7,134 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,064 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 10 | #5,706 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 5 | #9,156 | under 0.01 |
| 1973 | 11 | #4,971 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 13 | #4,361 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 14 | #4,167 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 11 | #4,835 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 7 | #6,140 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 17 | #3,211 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 11 | #4,113 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 13 | #3,605 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 11 | #4,017 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,153 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 15 | #3,378 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 32 | #2,087 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 26 | #2,378 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 31 | #2,068 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 36 | #1,857 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 32 | #1,949 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 30 | #2,002 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 24 | #2,272 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 28 | #2,033 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 36 | #1,712 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 35 | #1,684 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 31 | #1,794 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 47 | #1,368 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 33 | #1,633 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 41 | #1,439 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 34 | #1,607 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,642 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 27 | #1,738 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 36 | #1,337 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 42 | #1,227 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 42 | #1,257 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 40 | #1,271 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 45 | #1,106 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 49 | #1,028 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 38 | #1,184 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 49 | #1,020 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 54 | #942 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 43 | #1,069 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 54 | #949 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 57 | #907 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 47 | #1,012 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 52 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 59 | #900 | 0.06 |
| 1930 | 67 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 79 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 92 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 72 | #876 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 86 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 87 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 81 | #833 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 93 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 94 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 122 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1920 | 97 | #732 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 95 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 108 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 105 | #663 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 104 | #670 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 102 | #656 | 0.10 |
| 1914 | 80 | #647 | 0.11 |
| 1913 | 74 | #600 | 0.12 |
| 1912 | 71 | #572 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 33 | #758 | 0.08 |
| 1910 | 47 | #611 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 35 | #673 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 54 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 47 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1906 | 34 | #613 | 0.12 |
| 1905 | 40 | #548 | 0.14 |
| 1904 | 31 | #616 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 39 | #516 | 0.15 |
| 1902 | 42 | #487 | 0.16 |
| 1901 | 34 | #524 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 33 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 29 | #569 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 37 | #512 | 0.14 |
| 1897 | 29 | #557 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 38 | #470 | 0.16 |
| 1895 | 40 | #460 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 20 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 33 | #467 | 0.15 |
| 1892 | 31 | #489 | 0.15 |
| 1891 | 20 | #596 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 31 | #471 | 0.16 |
| 1889 | 38 | #394 | 0.21 |
| 1888 | 19 | #580 | 0.11 |
| 1887 | 31 | #392 | 0.21 |
| 1886 | 18 | #530 | 0.12 |
| 1885 | 15 | #560 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 21 | #439 | 0.16 |
| 1883 | 22 | #400 | 0.20 |
| 1882 | 17 | #449 | 0.16 |
| 1881 | 17 | #407 | 0.18 |
| 1880 | 13 | #477 | 0.14 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Elmira a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Elmira has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 125 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Elmira: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Elmira, and how old are they?
1,060 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 24% of the 4,360 Americans ever recorded as Elmira. The median Elmira alive today is 69 years old; half are between 53 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 2,222 people named Elmira (2,211 women and girls, 11 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,271 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 245 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 451 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 135 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 49 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 50 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 120 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Elmira born?
The states with the most babies named Elmira are Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Alabama, with 49% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana and Alabama are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 286 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Louisiana | 136 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Alabama | 132 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Mississippi | 126 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Georgia | 122 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Texas | 86 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| New Jersey | 39 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| North Carolina | 37 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Wisconsin | 33 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 20 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Elmira is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Elmira is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Elmira with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 5,110 babies since 1880, Elmira is the most given (85% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Elmira
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Elmira and names like it
- Compare Elmira and ElmyraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sElmira peaked in 1921.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Elmira since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Elmira: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Elmira.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Elmira alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.